Goldmark inherits shellfish ruling

Sutherland defers decision on profit from illegal planting

By ROBERT MCCLURE, P-I REPORTER

Published
10:00 pm PST, Friday, January 9, 2009

In a dramatic turn of events, outgoing state Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland is leaving to his successor the controversial decision whether to allow the state's largest and most influential shellfish grower to profit from geoducks and oysters illegally grown on state-owned land.

Sutherland faced stiff pro-tests from opponents of the shellfish industry over his proposal to lease the land at Totten Inlet, near Olympia, to Shelton-based Taylor Shellfish.

"I feel better," said Tom Woodnutt, who lives near the state-owned tidelands in question. "I feel like we're getting a fair hearing, and it's going to give the county time to get a better look."

Henson said Sutherland agreed to extend the public comment period, previously set to close this week, until Jan. 23. That's after Sutherland's opponent, Eastern Washington rancher and scientist Peter Goldmark, takes office Wednesday.

"The county, simply because their staff had been detained due to storm complications, they were not able to get their documents in," Henson said. "Commissioner Sutherland was responsive to that."

Goldmark said declaring a public comment period on such a controversial matter during the holiday season didn't give the public enough of a chance to weigh in.

"I'll be reviewing the entire process to make sure the public has had an opportunity to comment," he said.

"We were concerned that this whole issue was being pushed forward at such a rapid rate over the holidays."

Taylor Shellfish was disappointed by the decision, said spokesman Bill Dewey, who noted that more than 300 residents and groups did find time to comment by the deadline. Dewey said Thurston County officials told his firm that their comments were basically finished, so he was unsure why the deadline had to be extended.

"We're disappointed," Dewey said. "We've been working on this since April and looking forward to getting it resolved. We were on track to do that before Commissioner Sutherland left office."

Taylor has steadfastly maintained that the shellfish were planted on state land by mistake. Opponents question that version of events.

Sutherland had said he was prepared to lease Taylor the land where the company had planted geoducks, which are a type of clam that commands high prices in Asian restaurants. Growing them along Washington beaches has generated protests from nearby residents as the aquaculture has grown more intensive, requiring plastic tubing and nets to keep away predators.

Opponents consider the equipment unsightly and say such intensive aquaculture must be harmful to the Puget Sound ecosystem. Geoducks, clams and oysters all are grown along the shore, which scientists say is a crucial part of the Sound's food chain.

Earlier this week, opponents met with Thurston County commissioners, saying they believe Taylor will need a permit for shoreline use from the county as well as the state lease, Woodnutt said.

Under Sutherland's proposal, Taylor would have paid the state a portion of its earnings from the geoducks and oysters on state land. Aquaculture proponents note that such payments could help the state fund its renewed push to rescue the ailing Puget Sound ecosystem.

Taylor is on the hook to pay a fine for illegal use of state land. Goldmark said he thought that should be dealt with before moving on to a state lease to Taylor.

Goldmark said he will seek additional public comment on whether DNR should go into the business of leasing out geoduck beds. In the past the state has sought to gauge interest among growers, but has not gone forward in part because of the controversy over the environmental issues involved.

The incoming commissioner said he would be looking for unbiased scientific oversight of geoduck farming to determine whether it is, in fact, environmentally harmful.

"There's a lot of opportunity here to take a couple of steps back and look better at what we can do as an agency," Goldmark said.

At least one shellfish grower, Keith Stavrum of Moby Dick Oyster Farm on Willapa Bay, wrote to DNR officials to complain that he and other shellfish growers had not been invited to bid on the lease. He threatened legal action.